Evolution of the High Volume Pump

At the end of the 1980s, Hytrans Systems developed a mobile water supply system that was a water transport system without draft problems. The high volume (submersible pump) was called the HydroSub, which basically is a hydraulic-driven submersible pump that is fed via 60 meters of hydraulic hose and a diesel driven power pack. This enables the submersible pump to be hand carried to locations where it is impossible to use standard suction pumps due to the limited length of the suction lines.
Although developed in cooperation with the Dutch Home Office, its main task was providing firefighting water and, as such, the system needed to be mobile and had to be capable of being deployed with a minimum amount of effort and time and as few personnel as possible. Quick deployment is usually not a necessity during floods, but it does come in handy when a number of smaller flood planes or cellars need to be emptied. The standard system HydroSub 150 will provide 3500 litres a minute, with a pressure of 10 bar. This means that transporting this amount of water can be done over more than 2500 meters through a single 150mm hose and still have enough pressure left to fill a tanker vehicle.
Preventing a flood is, of course, always the best option, but unfortunately there will always be a flood in some place where it was not expected. Flooding can have a serious impact on both the economy and the environment of any country; it disrupts businesses by blocking roads, floods offices, damages or destroys vehicles. The water is often contaminated and this presents a real danger to the environment and the public health. To minimise the impact, reducing or clearing the effects of a flood is of prime importance and the right material needs to be selected to help achieve this.
The problem when trying to drain a flooded plain is usually access to the water; roads may have been damaged or become unstable, preventing big stationary pumping systems from being transported to the location by heavy trucks. Another problem is that most pumps rely on a suction line that connects the water to the pump. Sucking water has its limits and a maximum draft of 7.5 meters is the result.
Due to the increasing demand for mobile super high volume pumps, to reduce the impact of floods, the Flood Module was developed as an add-on system for the HydroSub 150. This allows the same HydroSub 150 to drive three flood pumps and generate a capacity of 50,000 litres a minute (lpm). This entire system – Hydrosub and Flood module – fits into one frame and can easily be transported and handled by means of one prime mover with a hook arm facility.
Because of its flexibility and the fact that it is a total solution, in addition to the pumps, hose layers, hoses and hose recovery unit are used increasingly by industrial firefighters, appreciating the advantages of mobile high volume water transport systems. The Hytrans fire system has proven to be very effective during incidents such as the Buncefield oil terminal fire in the UK, the Dalian pipeline explosion in China and, recently, the Fukushima Nuclear reactor disaster in Japan. This is due to their high capacity, quick deployment, easy operating, modular configuration and flexibility. Furthermore they can also be used as a backup system if the fire main is under construction or shut down for maintenance. With a mobile system standby the production does not have to be stopped and safety is guaranteed.
Besides a fast deployment, it is also a “must” to recover the system quickly. Most firefighters say that once the fire is extinguished they have all the time in the world to recover the used equipment. However if you look at training on the system, it is essential to make recovery quick and easy. When training is easy, it will be done more often and this will lead to more skilled people. The more training the better prepared for action during a real incident.
As storage tanks increased in diameter the demand for more water and higher pressure grew with it. This resulted in not only the development of much bigger pump units, but also in enlarging the diameter of the hoses to reduce friction loss over long distance; hose recovery units that are able to handle large diameter hose up to 300mm.
The largest unit in the Hytrans fire system product range at the moment is the HydroSub 1200, which has a capacity of 30,000 lpm at 12 bar. Due to the use of hydraulic driven submersible pumps there is no draft loss and therefore this capacity is also reached at a pump lift of 15 meters. The 60 meter of hydraulic lines allows you to get to the water in almost any situation.
As mobile high volume pumps are more and more used for direct firefighting it was necessary to develop a foam injection unit that is vey accurate and can deal with these high flows. The PowerFoam can be either integrated in the large HydroSubs or supplied as a stand alone unit. The latter can be placed at any convenient point in the water line.
Due to the hydraulic driven foam gear pump and the accurate water flow measuring, the exact amount of foam concentrate is added to the water flow. Foam setting can be done from zero and six percent in increments of 0.1 percent. The system works in such a way that it is fully independent from pressure and water flow and adapts automatically if there is fluctuation. Accurate foam mixing is the result. It also features a return line that allows you to return the foam concentrate back to the container during training sessions. Training on the entire foam setting of the unit, as well as the foam logistics, can be carried out without wasting precious and expensive foam.
Mobile high volume pumping was, is and will be constantly developing in order to get bigger, better, faster and lighter equipment to help firefighters fulfill their tough job.

Johan Kramer is Sales Manager at Hytrans Systems

For further information, go to www.hytransfiresystem.com